Related
This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

Forerunner 645 Music with Broken Casing - Replacement Model Recommendations

4775311
over 3 years ago

I’ve had two Garmins that I loved - a Vivoactive 3 Music and a Garmin 645 Forerunner Music that I bought to replace the Vivo. Unfortunately the casing holding the bands on each broke within a year and a half and I’ll now need to send in the 645 for a replacement— Garmin will send a refurbished 645 for $150. Due to an apparent design flaw with these models, I don’t want to pay anything for a watch that I’ll likely need to replace again — it’s becoming expensive and disruptive if I’m training. Any Garmin model recommendations under $500 that don’t have this issue?

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    I bought the Forerunner 255, and I'm enjoying it. I wish I could answer your question about whether there's a design flaw with it. The "lugs" coming off the watch to hold the watchband pins are a lot larger than with the 645M, but whether that translates to a stronger overall design remains to be seen. I will say the watch provides a great deal more data than the 645M, like pulse ox and body battery, which is kind of fun to play with, but I pretty much use it for the exact same things I used my 645M for: tracking runs, music, getting notifications. Unless you need maps, I think the 255 would be the way to go. Maybe you could check out the watch at a store before you buy it?

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to whlightnin

    Garmin has sent me a refurbished 645M which hopefully will last a year while I decide which watch to get. I’m tempted to upgrade to a Fenix but will check out the 255. Garmin offered me a refurbished 245 I believe as a replacement but said there was no altimeter, only GPS.

    Thank you for your response!

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    I have had two lugs break off one two years ago and one on the opposite side last year.  I used super glue and epoxy to repair the lug/brand and surprisingly it has held together since.  It is too bad Garmin stopped adding features so early in its life to the 645.   My local running store recently held an anniversary sale and I was able pickup a Forerunner 255 with a nice discount. So far go good with the 255 and has much better GPS and heart rate accuracy than the 645. 

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to runninfool26

    Thanks! Sounds like 255 may be a good option when my 645 replacement fails. 

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to 4775311

    Yeah, I think 255 would be the best choice to go

    4775311 said:
    255 may be a good option